Dynamics 365: What is it and what features it offers?

If you have been wondering if Dynamics 365 is a better relationship management solution than other similar ones, you might also want to know there are more questions hidden behind this seemingly simple question.

Let’s start by looking at what Dynamics 365 is and why it’s more than a traditional customer management software.

Designed to be a cloud-based suite of purpose-built, intelligent business applications, Dynamics 365 is an amalgamation of Microsoft products including Dynamics CRM, Dynamics AX and Dynamics NAV. It is a single, scalable toolkit for businesses to store customer engagements, profiles, transactions, behaviours, communications, activities, custom data and social data in one place.

As a true SaaS platform, you can start with a minimal number of users and adjust your plan down the road as your needs change, allowing businesses to manage subscription on a monthly basis and as the business grows or changes.

Dynamics 365 offers a number of powerful features that can be leveraged to extend the capability of the solution, including:

• Sales
• Operations / ERP (Enterprise)
• Accounting/ Finance (Business)
• Customer Service
• Portals (Customer / Community)
• Field Service
• Project Service Automation
• Workflow Management
• Marketing
• Analytics
• Mobile Device Apps

These applications have been integrated into two editions:

• Dynamics 365 for Enterprise (typically for companies with more than 250 employees) where Dynamics 365 Operations is the ERP engine (Dynamics AX)
• Dynamics 365 for Business (typically for companies with less than 250 employees) where Dynamics 365 Finance is the finance engine (Dynamics NAV)

Although there is a plethora of analyst reports comparing the relationship management solutions available in the market, it is important to remember that Dynamics 365 is not just a relationship management solution, it is the next-generation of intelligent business applications with an ability to create a fully integrated platform for managing your business.

The Dynamics 365 model has a lot going for it when you consider the license entitlements that can go beyond just sales and marketing.

• It is a powerful platform of which businesses can process data from Dynamics 365 with PowerBI, PowerApps, Flow, Outlook and Office 365. This integrated solution can easily meet business needs today but can also be easily scaled flexibly as your business evolves or grows.
• The mobility features of Dynamics 365 are also an essential these days for your remote workers or field teams to be able to check data anytime, anywhere with their phone or tablet with ease.
• Dynamics 365’s extensible platform allows users to create custom applications and interfaces for any device without coding, a feature that supports agile businesses who aim to empower their mobile workforce with the most appropriate tools available.
• Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn in December 2016 and the stated intention to embed it to Dynamics 365 will further enable your frontline employees to get direct and integrated access to their prospecting tool using a single application.

As a Microsoft Gold partner, Nexon is fully supported by Microsoft when implementing their technology. With competitors like Product X, you may find that you have to engage directly, through partners or possibly through agents. Confusing at best and frustrating at worst as you try to navigate. So, back to the question why Dynamics 365 and if the above is not enough, contact us today if you want to discuss more.

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